James Baldwin said it best:

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."

I Have Seen The Future by John Merrow Daniel P. King arrived in a district with a dropout rate almost double the Texas average. He had a plan, and ... it's working. John Merrow explains. by JOHN MERROW on 13. JUN, 2012 in 2012 BLOGS “I have seen the future, and it works.” I write those words with some trepidation, because another journalist used those exact words in 1919 and lived to regret it, big time. If you remember your history, Lincoln Steffens said that after returning from newly Communist Russia. Only later did he see with clarity the harsh cruelty of the Soviet dictatorshi...more »

NYC Public School Parents: Carol Burris' testimony on the current testing regime: Carol Burris' testimony on the current testing regime by Leonie Haimson *On Monday, the NYS Senate held hearings on testing. Here is the testimony of Carol Burris, LI principal and one of the co-authors of the principals' letter to Commissioner King.* Dear Senator Flanagan: I would like to thank you for holding a public hearing on the evolution of student assessments. It is vitally important that we think long and hard about the role of assessments, the quality of assessments, the learning we wish t...more »

Moskowitz to authorizers: Reject high-need enrollment targets | GothamSchools: Moskowitz to authorizers: Reject high-need enrollment targetsby Geoff Decker, at 7:34 pm[image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] The head of one of the city’s largest charter school networks is calling on state charter authorizers to reject a law that requires charter schools to serve a larger share of high-needs students. The law, Success Academy Charter Schools CEO Eva Moskowitz wrote in a letter to authorizers this month, creates “perverse incentives” for charter schools to “over-id...more »

Does CA charter deserve strokes or pokes for its attrition rate? « Parents Across America: Does CA charter deserve strokes or pokes for its attrition rate? *By Caroline Grannan* * * *Parents Across America founding member, San Francisco* Blogger Alexander Russo raised some questions about happy-talk PR by a K-12 charter school in Lodi, Calif., which put out a press release announcing that its first cohort that started at the school in kindergarten is now graduating — with eight of the original 60 kids still at the school. Russo questioned whether that attrition rate should be discu...more »

Stop the Attacks on Children « MomsRising Blog: Stop the Attacks on ChildrenPosted June 13th, 2012 by Bruce Lesley and Wendy Cervantes [image: Wendy Cervantes]This week marks the 30th anniversary of the Plyler v. Doe Supreme Court ruling, a statute that embodies our belief as Americans that all children should have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. The ruling established that every child, regardless of their immigration status, is entitled to a public K-12 education. Specifically, the ruling deemed it unconstitutional to discriminate against children “on the basis ...more »

Join UNITE HERE at the Congress Hotel. Friday from 4PM to 6PM. « Fred Klonsky: Join UNITE HERE at the Congress Hotel. Friday from 4PM to 6PM. by Fred Klonsky More thoughts on IEA leadership bullying. by Fred Klonsky Tim is right. Nobody but Aurdrey, Ken and Mitch claim that Jonah Edelman was wrong on the Aspen video. Mitch is disappointingly wrong on several levels: *As for Edelman’s statement, if it is what you say (I haven’t gone back and listened to it), it is a lie. For what purpose, I have no idea what goes on in his mind and have no real desire to delve into it. However, ...more »

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Father of High-Stakes Testing, Paul Vallas, now opposes them: Father of High-Stakes Testing, Paul Vallas, now opposes them by admin Reuters reports that former Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas thinks end-of-year assessments are “not useful” and that it’s “a big mistake” to use them for high-stakes purposes. Well, he needs to apologize to about 125,000 Chicago Public School students who have been flunked because of the high-stakes testing policy he started in 1996 as CPS CEO. And maybe his “education ...more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: What you will NEVER Read in an Arne Duncan Department of Education Press Release.: What you will NEVER Read in an Arne Duncan Department of Education Press Release. by stlgretchen Should THESE be the buzzwords of education reform? Andreas Schleicher, the developer of the PISA test surmises why Chinese students outperform other students: *"In China, more than nine out of 10 children tell you: 'It depends on the effort I invest and I can succeed if I study hard.'* I would wager you will never hear Arne Duncan state the preceding quote about American st...more »

Hey Mitt, Leave Our Teachers Alone | OurFuture.org: Hey Mitt, Leave Our Teachers Alone by Terrance Heath Yesterday was the last day of school for public school students in Montgomery County, Maryland, where we live — including our nine-year-old son, who just completed the third grade. I began the morning by sending a one last email to his teacher. I asked her about the summer reading and math packets we were expecting our son to bring. I also thanked her for all the work she'd done to help our son this year. As I thought about how much our son has grown and improved over the past ...more »

Romney's Education Policies: Eliminate Public Education As We Know It With "Voucherlike" Plan | K-12 News Network: Romney’s Education Policies: Eliminate Public Education As We Know It With “Voucherlike” Plan by admin MOMocrats mentioned. Mitt Romney’s latest statements about his vision for America’s public schools can be summed up by his declaration that it’d be best to let families “vote with their feet” and have federal dollars follow children to private/religious, public, charter, or online schools. Reckless, foolish, clueless, or all of the above? Perhaps if someone actually...more »

Teachers group unveils its proposal for new evaluations - latimes.com: Teachers group unveils its proposal for new evaluations [image: Teacher Maria Duarte goes over fractions and division with her fourth grade math class at Los Angeles Elementary School in 2011.] A group of Los Angeles teachers Wednesday unveiled their own proposal for a new performance review system that would use both state standardized test scores and assessments chosen by individual schools to measure how well instructors help their students learn. The proposal by Educators 4 Excellence, whose L.A. chapter of 90...more »

What the Kids Think — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG [image: Sean Slade]What the Kids Think June 13, 2012 by Sean Slade A couple of weeks back I wrote about “The Unknown Students" and outlined a simple process for discovering which students are flying under the radar and are unknown by adults at the school. In discussing solutions such as having adults linked to students as mentors to get to know them, it was made clear that the key factor is that the students believe that their teachers and other adults at the school know them. It’s not enough that we may think we kno...more »

In the News: CPS parents complain about robo calls | catalyst-chicago.org: In the News: CPS parents complain about robo calls - *By: *Cassandra West / June 13, 2012 [image: DFER Fake Democrats for Education Privatization (click on Picture)] IT IS A RULE: YOU CAN'T BE AGAINST PEOPLE AND FOR CORPORATIONS AND CALL YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT...EVER! In the wake of complaints from parents who suspected that CPS gave their phone numbers to Democrats for Education Reform, Education Reform Now Advocacy Director Jake Breymaier says the phone numbers were purchased from the Illinois Democr...more »

Daily Kos: We owe Bernie Sanders thanks -: We owe Bernie Sanders thanks - by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) and now we have the evidence that the entire financial system needs to be totally reshaped. Courtesy of Reader Supported News we have access to the list of 18 serious conflicts of interest between executives of financial institutions receiving bailouts from the Fed at the same time they sat on Fed boards. One, Jeffrey Immelt, has been further rewarded by this administration putting him in a key position for its jobs initiative at the same time he is exporting jobs overseas. ...more »

Bill Maher on unions. « Fred Klonsky: Bill Maher on unions. by Fred Klonsky Popout The in box. “Mitch is nit-picking.” Fred Klonsky at Fred Klonsky - 46 seconds ago Fred, Mitch’s letter is nit-picking. The IEA leadership admittedly not only supported SB7 but claimed it as a model for all other unions to follow. If that’s not pressure, I don’t know what is. it was IEA spokesman Charlie McBarron who originally said that the SB7 deal, “puts kids first and will move education forward. [...] Bill Maher on unions. Fred Klonsky at Fred Klonsky - 4 minutes ago Is Audrey Soglin a bully? Th...more »

EVIL UNIONS DOMINATE THE STATE GOVERNMENT WORKFORCE IN ILLINOIS « Teachers Fight Back: EVIL UNIONS DOMINATE THE STATE GOVERNMENT WORKFORCE IN ILLINOIS by alkleen Oh no, the horror! The Chicago Tribune in its lead editorial today exposes the horrible fact that nearly 96 percent of the Illinois state government workforce is unionized. Not only that, but many of the other 4% are trying to join a union to avoid layoffs and or pay reductions. The Tribune is demanding legislators do something about this terrible situation. The chutzpah of this paper is incredible. They are constantly be...more »

Is Audrey Soglin a bully? The IEA General Counsel writes me a letter. « Fred Klonsky: Is Audrey Soglin a bully? The IEA General Counsel writes me a letter. by Fred Klonsky *Fred,* *Hope you are doing well! While I have no desire to become a focus of your or anyone else’s blog, I felt it was important to send you a note about a recent posting on your blog, in which you made the following statement: “Then there’s IEA Executive Director Audrey Soglin and former IEA President Ken Swanson. These two sad excuses for union leadership were sent to pressure the CTU into accepting the E...more »

The Folly of Using Standards to Create High-Stakes Tests on Display in Florida | Scathing Purple Musings: The Folly of Using Standards to Create High-Stakes Tests on Display in Florida by Bob Sikes *Northwest Florida Daily News *reporter Katie Temmen isn’t letting go of a story on the standardized test disaster that occurred in Okaloosa county. Brad Berryman has always liked science. He enjoyed chemistry class and thought he’d be well-prepared by the time his end-of-course exam rolled around. He was wrong. “When I walked into the classroom, my heart kind sank when I saw my teacher...more »

Thumbs Up Thumbs Down: Organized Labor | United Opt Out National: Thumbs Up Thumbs Down: Organized Labor by admin *We live in an era when leaders in business and the media demand that schools function like businesses in a free market economy, competing for students and staff. Many such voices say that such corporate-style school reform is stymied by the teacher unions, which stand in the way of leaders who want unchecked power to assign, reward, punish, or remove their employees. Some academics blame the unions when student achievement remains stagnant. If scores are low, the cri...more »

Shanker Blog » Gender Pay Gaps And Educational Achievement Gaps: Gender Pay Gaps And Educational Achievement Gaps by Matthew Di Carlo There is currently an ongoing rhetorical war of sorts over the gender wage gap. One “side” makes the common argument that women earn around 75 cents on the male dollar (see here, for example). Others assert that the gender gap is a myth, or that it is so small as to be unimportant. Often, these types of exchanges are enough to exasperate the casual observer, and inspire claims such as “statistics can be made to say anything.” In truth, however, the c...more »

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: [image: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, California] Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Education Headlines *Wednesday, June 13, 2012* Norris superintendent to retireWallace "Wally" McCormick, 12-year superintendent of Norris School District -- one of the highest achieving districts in Kern County -- will retire at the end of July. Thieves steal Linden High cherry cropTo the high school students, the 50 or more cherry trees and their bounty represent effort, diligence and hands-on experience. To thieves, it was an easy mark. Teacher, janitor hav...more »

Brookings Responds to My Blog about Being Terminated « Diane Ravitch's blog: Brookings Responds to My Blog about Being Terminated by dianerav *Grover * On Monday, I posted a blog called “The Day I Was Terminated.” In that blog, I recounted that I received an email on June 5 from Grover (Russ) Whitehurst of Brookings telling me that I was being terminated–after a 19-year association with Brookings–because I was “inactive.” That’s a pretty abrupt way to finish off a 19-year affiliation. My first thought was that the termination might be related to my pointed criticism of Mitt Romne...more »

RheeFirst! » How Michelle Rhee recruits new “members”: How Michelle Rhee recruits new “members” by admin Written by Diane Ravitch for her blog. Read the entire post here. “*A friend told me she signed an online petition on Change.org for some cause to make the world a better place, and promptly received an email from Michelle Rhee of Students First thanking her for joining. She was astonished to discover that she was a member of Students First, because she never signed anything that identified the group. This is apparently standard practice for Rhee’s group, as demonstrated by this...more »

One Teacher’s Road to Vindication | NEA Today: One Teacher’s Road to Vindication June 12, 2012 by twalker Filed under Featured News, Top Stories 7 Comments [image: Email][image: Share] *By Michael D. Simpson, NEA Office of General Counsel* What is your teaching career worth? In dollars and cents? If a school board illegally took your job away and destroyed your right to practice your profession, how much should they be made to pay? It’s a hard figure to calculate. But last February, a Charlotte, North Carolina, jury was up to the task. They awarded Jeff Leardini $1,173,716 for the ...more »

Parents Across America founding member receives Best Political Activist Award for 2012 in Florida | Seattle Education: Parents Across America founding member receives Best Political Activist Award for 2012 in Florida by seattleducation2011 *From the Broward County New Times:* Any disgruntled citizen can hurl insults during a school board meeting or launch a NIMBY crusade. Rita Solnet is the rare activist with powerful allies inside and outside government. Her diligently researched arguments prompt policy changes with far-reaching implications throughout the state. The Boca Raton m...more »

Geaux Teacher!: Diane Ravitch and The CHICAGO STORY: Diane Ravitch and The CHICAGO STORY by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) Yesterday I responded to a campaign AD from President Obama's staff. Today I'm going to forward this post to the same staff member in case he doesn't believe that teachers are being disregarded by Obama's education policy leaders like his friend Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Critics will say this is another example of union thuggery, but those familiar with the treatment of teachers in Chicago and throughout the country, will understand that it i...more »

The 98% « Fred Klonsky: The 98% by Fred Klonsky The Jonah Edelman Rule: In order to get strike authorization the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union (this rule only applies to Chicago) must receive 75% approval by all the members of the union. Edelman, of the corporate ed reform group *Stand for Children*, had his people study the data and decided that 75% was the threshold that the union could not get over. He believed he had created a *de facto* no-strike law for Chicago teachers. The leaders of the IEA and the IFT agreed, and over the objections of the CTU’s House of Dele...more »

*BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS* How are Schools Testing in Art, Music, and Gym? - Dana Goldstein coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago How are Schools Testing in Art, Music, and Gym? - Dana Goldstein: How are Schools Testing in Art, Music, and Gym? by Dana Goldstein Today at Slate I look at models for testing in art, music, theater, and physical education. Though it may seem absurd to administer standardized tests in these subjects, attempts to do so are proliferating in response to President Obama's Race to the Top program, which asked states and districts to...more »

How are Schools Testing in Art, Music, and Gym? - Dana Goldstein: How are Schools Testing in Art, Music, and Gym? by Dana Goldstein Today at Slate I look at models for testing in art, music, theater, and physical education. Though it may seem absurd to administer standardized tests in these subjects, attempts to do so are proliferating in response to President Obama's Race to the Top program, which asked states and districts to collect student achievement data for every teacher, in every grade level and every subject. South Carolina has been a trailblazer here. Their fourth-grade ...more »

This Week In Education: Thompson: Mike Petrilli's Strangely Combative Truce Proposal: Thompson: Mike Petrilli's Strangely Combative Truce Proposal by john thompson [image: Tlsn2a]@drjohnthompson It is no surprise that Mike Petrilli's otherwise excellent post,How to Push for Reform without Alienating Teachers,included a paragraph with a boilerplate attack on teachers. His short, combative paragraph ends with the misstatement that teachers and our champions want to, "stop measuring teachers’ contributions to student achievement gains." That is the way that political battles are fo...more »

A Good Man | Maria Shriver | The Open Field Network: JUNE 13, 2012 A Good Man By Mark K. Shriver I never planned to write a book, much less a book on my relationship with my dad. But something happened to me during the days leading up to his funeral, at the funeral itself, and in the days thereafter. I had heard that old epithet -- “a good man” -- in reference to Dad so many times that it passed from a cliché to an irritant to a haunting refrain. I had lost count of the people who had applied it to Dad when they’d reached out to me. At first, I thought that the cliché was just an e...more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Hillary lectures India about "bogus" education: Hillary lectures India about "bogus" education by Mike Klonsky Clinton warns Indian Ed Minister Kapil Sibal: "It doesn't add up. It doesn't make a difference."The idea of *Hillary Clinton* lecturing India's Education Minister about "bogus" distance learning programs is almost too much to bear. *"I think we have to be very thoughtful about how to make the most of these efforts, because, to *

Remarks by the President to Graduating Students of the Science Leadership Academy -- Philadelphia, PA | The White House: Remarks by the President to Graduating Students of the Science Leadership Academy -- Philadelphia, PA by The White House The Franklin Institute Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 5:50 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you so much. Everybody, have a seat. Have a seat. Well, this is so exciting to have a chance to see all of you. Congratulations on your graduation. (Applause.) I know I kind of messed up graduation a little bi...more »

Michelle Rhee Offers Democrats Campaign Money/"Ed Reform" Expertise, They Refuse | K-12 News Network: Michelle Rhee Offers Democrats Campaign Money/”Ed Reform” Expertise, They Refuse by admin One of the first things Michelle Rhee’s group, StudentsFirstNY, did upon launching in that state was approach Democratic Congressional candidate Hakeem Jeffries (NY-CD8) and offer him a six-figure, unregulated, third party donation to his campaign. They probably thought Jeffries was an easy mark, given the positions he’s taken in the past urging that New York City open itself up to more char...more »

Daily Kos: I still believe in this country: I still believe in this country by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) I just read I don't believe in this country anymore. I can feel along with its author the pain he experiences, for I have seen it in the faces of some of my fellow teachers and far more often in the faces of the families of the students I have taught recently. Increasing numbers of our graduates focus on state colleges and universities because other opportunities have been foreclosed by finances, by loss of financial aid possibilities. Yet I still believe in this cou...more »

Teaching English at Las Montanas: A “Good” Lesson? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Teaching English at Las Montanas: A “Good” Lesson? by larrycuban Ms. Sandy Demeter sat at her desk in the front of the room as the 27 ninth grade students filed in English 1 before the tardy buzzer sounds. Desks were arranged in clusters of three facing the teacher and whiteboards. Demeter’s laptop sat next to the LCD projector. According to Learning Materials Center records (a.k.a.the library), she often brought her class there to work on projects with their laptops or 25-plu...more »

The message teachers get - Other Views - NewsObserver.com: The message teachers get By Jason Langberg Tags: Teachers | North Carolina | working conditions | pay Two centuries ago, Thomas Jefferson said, “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” Over 100 years ago, John Dewey wrote, “Education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform.” Nearly 60 years ago, in Brown v. Board of Education, Chief Justice Earl Warren declared, “Education is perhaps the most important function of state and local government.” Today, powerful forces ar...more »

Gates Foundation Explains the Galvanic Skin Response Monitor « Diane Ravitch's blog: Gates Foundation Explains the Galvanic Skin Response Monitor dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 hour ago An enlightening article by Stephanie Simon of Reuters was just posted. Simon interviewed Gates’ officials and others, and her article fills in the Gates’ rationale that has until now been missing. The article says: The biometric bracelets, produced by a Massachusetts startup company, Affectiva Inc, send a small current across the skin and then measure [...] “Technies Gone Wild” dianerav at Diane...more »

Schools Matter: Foreign language mastery: what the research says: Foreign language mastery: what the research says by skrashen Foreign language mastery: What the research says Sent to the Washington Post, June 12, 2013 Andrew Eil claims that the “easy steps” to foreign language mastery are to study grammar very hard, drill vocabulary every day, and force yourself to talk (“Speak the language,” Washington Post Express, June 11). A massive amount of research done over the last few decades by a wide variety of researchers and published in scientific journals presents a very differen...more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: The death of Philly's public school system: The death of Philly's public school system by Mike Klonsky Coming soon to your city -- if it hasn't already got there Here's what a state takeover, a decade of corporate-style "reform" under the so-called School Reform Commission, and privatization have done to Philadelphia's public schools.* * Writes Kathy Matheson, Associated Press: Helen GymThe City of Brotherly Love is boiling over with frustration. It's not just the $700 million in education cuts this past year. It's not just a loss of state aid...more »

Wait, What? - Working to educate, persuade and mobilize through "perceptive and acerbic" observations about Connecticut Government and Politics: When Government Fears Democracy; It’s Time to Fear Government by jonpelto In a blatant and disgusting abuse of power, Governor Malloy, with the support of the vast majority of Democratic Legislators, has taken away the fundamental democratic rights of Connecticut citizens, in this case, the people of Bridgeport. Last night, during the Legislature’s Special Session, the House of Representatives and the State Senate adopted House Bill #6001,...more »

You May Say I’m a DREAMer [Where We Belong] | The Jose Vilson: You May Say I’m a DREAMer [Where We Belong] by Jose An interesting story came across my desk this morning. Daniela Peraez, the valedictorian of her class, almost had to rescind her citizenship status over complications with the *migra*. This particular paragraph stuck with me: Despite her uphill legal battle that lies ahead, Pelaez will head to Dartmouth College in September on a full scholarship. As friends, family, and supporters watched Pelaez emerged confidently dressed in her white cap and gown at the North Miami ...more »

Why Throwing Money at Schools Actually Is the Answer - Education - GOOD: Why Throwing Money at Schools Actually *Is* the Answer by Liz Dwyer [image: Bronxville] Whenever the issue of improving public schools comes up there's always somebody eager to say that throwing more money at the problem isn't the answer—schools just need to become more efficient with the dollars they have. Frequently the person saying this doesn't actually have kids enrolled in a public school, or if they do, they don't have kids attending public school in a low-income community. Well, next time you encounter ...more »

Geaux Teacher!: PUBLIC RECORDS ACT VS. LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION: PUBLIC RECORDS ACT VS. LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) Earlier today a Facebook friend and teacher posted the following note on my page: * "The element of gifted is listed as a component in the development of my score as a teacher. I emailed the state department to find out how it is used. The person answering my email sent me links to material that mentioned gifted. None of it answered my question as to HOW gifted was factored in. Therefore, I emailed AG...more »

Fragmentation « Cooperative Catalyst: Fragmentation by mrsenorhill [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] *This is cross-posted from the Disruption Department blog, and while St. Louis focused, I believe the coop can provide some insight into some problems I’m struggling with.* It’s interesting to think of community education in light of the issues brought forward by a recent @jessicabock article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I’ve often struggled with the most appropriate ways to approach our service to our community’s (communities’) families. I think the d...more »

LAUSD'S BOY - STATE SENATOR ALEX PADILLA AND AB 1530 - Perdaily.com: LAUSD'S BOY - STATE SENATOR ALEX PADILLA AND AB 1530 by Leonard Isenberg [image: Alex Padilla1.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)* *The thesis of Naomi Klein's book The Shock Doctrine is that if you scare people enough they will allow government to trample on their civil rights or the rights of others based on the belief that this will make us safe. The irony is that what the shock doctrine more accurately describes is a world where ...more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: You can't "trust" Rahm's Infrastructure Trust: You can't "trust" Rahm's Infrastructure Trust by Mike Klonsky More arrests this afternoon at the Chicago Health Dept. as protests continue over the mayor's closing of half the city's mental health clinics. Word is that another patient just died, allegedly due, directly or indirectly to the closing of their clinic. Some patients, with few means of transportation, have to travel 10 miles or more across town to get treatment. In what's proving to be one of the biggest lies ever told by a politician, Rahm ...more »

Jersey Jazzman: "Reform" Is an Excuse For Poverty: "Reform" Is an Excuse For Poverty by Duke Over at Matt DiCarlo's place, Clifford Janey, the former superintendent of Newark's and DC's schools, makes too much sense: Not until leaders from all sides of the issue consider these conditions and connect changes in social policy to those in education policy will gains in student achievement become a reliable reference point of college/work readiness. What is compelling about the *intersection of social and education policy* is not the need for it as the *third leg* of the new reform...more »